Released: 1964
Tracks: No Reply; I’m a Loser; Baby’s in Black; Rock and Roll Music; I’ll Follow the Sun; Mr. Moonlight; Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey; Eight Days a Week; Words of Love; Honey Don’t; Every Little Thing; I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party; What You’re Doing; Everybody’s Trying to Be my Baby
Best track: Eight Days a Week
Track to skip: most of the album? Looks like it
Of all the Beatles albums, this is the big one that really sticks out as very jumbled and inconsistent. This is especially a “collection of songs”, as opposed to a coherent album. Most of the originals on this (save a few) are forgettable and the cover songs are just bad choices. I know they really liked these cover songs, but they’re not that great. I guess the pressure of constant touring finally caught up to them on this album. I mean, George’s guitar solo on Baby’s in Black sounds like someone is killing a guitar. Most of the album sounds VERY tired and lifeless. The only real exceptions are the originals I’ll Follow the Sun and Eight Days a Week (both excellent songs) and their versions of Kansas City and Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey. Yeah, the performance of Rock and Roll Music is spirited, but it’s such a horrible song anyway; it’s just REALLY stupid. I guess I’m too young to get it. Since I’m royally opposed to compilations, you’ll have to get this if you go by my logic. Eight Days is an incredible song, and you really need to own it, but just don’t get too excited for the album as a whole.
Rating: 68
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